Retirement/Hiatus · 8:25am May 21st, 2017
So hey, how's everybody doing? I'm doing pretty great. Well, I was, anyway. Some, uh, bad stuff has come up recently that's been rather stressful, but it probably won't last much longer. But yeah, aside from all that noise, my retirement is going great. I felt a lot better within days of making the announcement. Man, I really just needed to break away for a while. I should've done it a while ago, really. Guess I was holding onto the hope that I could just power through it. The only problem so far is that I'm not watching any new episodes (the previous season gave me no reason to want to continue), and that may make it difficult for me to do pre-reading work and such for the few people I do that for (when I actually get around to it, anyway), if their works involve things from said new episodes. Hasn't been a big issue yet, though.
Yeah, I still do pre-reading duties and such (sometimes). I suppose this isn't a complete breakaway from all things pony. Perhaps it should be, but that would be leaving my friends high and dry, and I'd rather not do that. Besides, as I said, it's been getting better anyway.
I'll admit, within a few days of quitting, I was already missing doing fanwork. I wanted to go back pretty quick. But I'm holding out so I don't burn out again. Gotta reset. I implied it in my last blog, and I don't want to get your hopes up or anything, but I expect to be back at it, someday. I suppose I should maybe call it a hiatus instead of retirement, but like I said, I don't want to lead anyone on and disappoint them again. I don't make promises unless I know I can keep them. For now, count me out, still.
I dunno if I'll be going back to the show, though. I've missed fanwork almost immediately after publicly retiring, but it's been a couple months, and still have no desire to watch any new episodes. I no longer eagerly wait for Saturday. I never thought I'd become one of "those people" who quit the show due to... some silly reasons, yet still create fanwork. Assuming I ever come back, that is. But oh well.
That's all for now. Just dropping by to let you know that I'm still alive. Hope things are going well on all your ends. See you around.
Honestly the show doesn't interest me all that much either. I feel like there's no shame in just enjoying what you enjoy and if you like the fanworks but not the show then why keep yourself from something you love?
dude honestly the new season is s great so far
4541148
I'm inclined to agree. Just feels weird. But all it means, functionally, is that I can't write about things happening in new episodes. But considering the colossal backlog of unfinished fics and ideas I have (over 11k words of story concepts alone), I doubt that'll be a problem. Besides, I haven't been fond of a lot of the worldbuilding they've been doing, lately, anyway. Seems like any lore they add raises far more questions than it answers and only makes the world more confusing, and I don't always feel so inclined to puzzle through it all.
4541153
That's what they tell me.
4541157 The AU tag exists for a reason. Some authors may frown upon it's use but it's basically just there to indicate that a story doesn't follow established canon/lore.
4541165
Yup. I'm going to have to be using that tag a lot if I make use of many of my older ideas.
I guess the show can get pretty exhausting after a while, but if this is what you feel, definitely go for it, fan-art or not. Moving on doesn't have to mean turning away or anything, so maybe you'll be an observer from now on rather than directly interacting with FIM.
On a side note, season 7 is pretty great so far. I'm enjoying it more than season 6, surprisingly enough.
4541533
Perhaps. I'll just have to see.
I've heard it's better than season 6. But for me, going to the dentist is better than season 6; there may be some good things in there, but I have to deal with a lot of pain in the process and I walk away feeling terrible.
4541556
I gotta ask: what makes you dislike season 6 so much? Sure, it's not the best season, but there were some good episodes in there. Is it because you're altogether burnt out from the show?
4541914
Simply put: I enjoyed fewer than half the episodes in season six. The remaining half were either boring or downright terrible. I suspect burnout played a role, but in discussions with others, I'm clearly not the only one who thought it hosted some of the worst episodes in the series. The finale is a bizarre and different case, though. I thought it was great most of the way through, but then it completely shit the bed at the end. I started the season all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. By the end of the season, I was relieved that it was finally over, and I had no desire to keep watching anymore. If you want more detail, I suppose I could make a blog about it.
Another factor is Starlight Glimmer, the biggest base-breaker in the franchise. I just do not enjoy watching her the vast majority of the time. I never enjoyed watching her, in fact. She was an effective villain, for sure, but I never enjoyed her. And as a protagonist, it seems like the writers cannot figure out how to handle her. They continually retread the same notes over and over and try to fix the parts of her development that they botched through retcons, but they don't seem to make anything better. She's like a worse version of Spike, as I see it. Mix that with some dissonant elements that make her resemble a creator's pet, and you have a character that does the show no favors, as far as I'm concerned.
Except as an excuse to bring Trixie back. That was cool, though it's part of the dissonance I mentioned, so even that's a mixed bag.
4542499
I really didn't like Starlight as a protagonist as well, though only in the beginning. I think what made me change my mind was the episode No Second Prances, where Trixie returns for a third time. I think the two have really good chemistry, which is done ever better in season 7. I also like how Starlight still has a bad temper, as to show she hasn't done a complete 180. The second episode in season 7 is sort of dedicated to this problem, actually.
But I do think that there were some really bad episodes. I actually was really enjoying season 6 about a third of the way through, but I felt extremely lukewarm about the second half. And I agree with your views on the finale: it was pretty good up until that atrocious third act.